The Case for Economic Liberalism, Term Paper Example

National Security Strategy

The United States 2015 National Security Strategy is a document that highlights the policies and ideologies embedded in the country’s systems to protect the country (United States). This document covers a wide range of issues, most importantly highlighting international relations with other sovereign states. This document depicts aspects of realism, liberalism and constructivism. This paper analyzes how these three ideologies are evident in the national security strategy and its significance and implications on international relations.

Liberalism

Liberalism is founded on a wide range of views, depending one’s application and understanding the principles it embodies. Generally, liberalism stands for and supports free trade, civil rights, freedom of owning private property, free and fair elections, freedom of religion and freedom of the press (Dorn). This can also be seen in the origins of the term liberal, which comes from the Latin word Liber, which stands for “freedom”. Basically, Liberalism stands for a free society where all individuals are allowed to exercise their rights.

Liberalism is also rooted on the idea that when global institutional and economic ties are strengthened, it considerably reduces the possibility of conflict and/or war (Rourke and Boyer). This is because the countries involved would consider the cost/benefit ratio of engaging in conflict and/or war, against that of engaging in trade (Dorn 431). One will find that engaging in trade would be more beneficial as opposed to engaging in conflict and/or war. Liberalism therefore holds that by the United States being integrated into the global economy, the chances of an aggressive and confrontation with global economic partners are greatly reduced.

The 2015 National Security Strategy depicts strategies to help build capacity to prevent conflict. These strategies have adopted a liberal stance by forecasting a safe and peaceful global economy by creating an environment that prevents the development and growth of extremism. It highlights that the nexus of weak governance and the widespread dominance of common grievances help extremist ideology take root within countries (United States). As such, building multilateral relationships through organizations helps to identify the root cause of conflict before it flares up. By augmenting the capacity of multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and other regional institutions, the United States can help prevent conflict before it erupts and causes social and economic damage (United States).

A salient and practical example is seen in international relations between the United States and China. Liberalism generally has the following predictions for US-China relations. Liberalism holds that China is, with time, going to be entrenched into the world economy. This will be achieved by increasing trade between the United States and China. In-turn, this will lead to economic interdependence between the two countries (United States). This will lead to the reduction in potential hostilities between the two nations. The creation of economic interdependence, will lead to the gradual transformation of social systems within the country itself (Dorn 431). The structure of governance will also transform from communism to a democracy.

However, as concerns the relationship between the United States and China, is flawed and its predictions of the future are wrong. This is because this philosophy fails to consider some important and unavoidable facts that are pertinent to the history of US-China relations.

Economic Power: As it stands, China’s economy is among the very few economies that a fully independent with no debt. This makes China considerable economic power in the world. Researchers say that China’s economy will surpass the US economy by 2035 (Dorn). This means that trade with the US would not significantly affect China’s economy.

Trade with Africa: China has in the recent past shifted trade and investments into Africa. This has led to the considerable increase in market for Chinese products as it reduces trade with the United States (Rourke and Boyer). This is on the back of the reduction of trade between African countries and the United States. This means that China does not necessarily need to trade with the United States to find market for its products.

Nuclear Power: The United States has in the recent past raised concern over the use of nuclear energy by China. The US believes that China cannot be trusted with nuclear energy as it seeks to weaponize it. China does not take this lightly as it sees this as a move to infringe on the sovereignty of the country. Owing to the three issues highlighted above, liberalism’s prediction of the future can be seen to be false.

Realism

Realism is founded on the concept of an international system within which all the states focus on their self-interests and compete for power (Frappier). In this system, all other nations are perceived as competition. Every nation employ all means so as to see their agenda advance. This is owing to the fact that the system is anarchic and almost always leads to the development of conflict, tension and wars.

In the historical context, realists hypothesised that the Cold War was triggered by the upsurge of Soviet power and the fear it caused in the West. On the other hand, they elucidate that relative decline in Soviet power contributed much towards the easing of the Cold War (Wohlforth). The competition between the Soviet leaders and the western powers stemmed from their ideological differences, and the mere perception of superiority.

Realists, regardless of their diversity, generally look at change in behaviour of a particular government as an adaptation to peripheral constraints (Wohlforth). These constraints are conditioned by changes in relative power. This is evident in the manner in which the national security strategy depicts the values that formulate its foundation. The document highlights the Syrian civil war and Russia’s aggression in the Ukraine. The United States realizes its greatest opportunities lie in the advancement of the rule of law and liberty (United States). By vowing to defend democracy, the United States anticipates and foresees the potential of war and conflict as a result of policies and ideologies adopted by anti-democracy governments (United States 25 & 26).

In the view of the realists, the future of the world is more important than the struggle for power dominance. Therefore, the recent changes in the international relationships are attributed to the Cold War era, when there was mistrust among the struggling nations. The choice of alliances became difficult, and over years there has always been the need to stabilize the central power relations among nations that were involved in the Cold War (Wohlforth).  The security policy depicts aspects of socio-structural realism, which has seen the need to cultivate sense of humanity culminated to the emergence of the neo-humanism. As a result, neo-humanists embodied within the security policy suffice as the critics of the social discordance in the society. Neo-humanism has always been advanced by the realization that societal development is hinged on appropriate social outlook (United States). In the classical world, social civilization had gone down the drain, and people had looked at one another with contempt. Therefore, the superiority and inferiority syndromes had been in the centre stage of life (Frappier). The leaders, both in the political positions and social realms have taken the lead in encouraging literary work as a tool of organizing the masses.

The National Security Strategy depicts a call for selective engagement with external neighbours. This is depicted in the values of the strategy which specify that the United States’ allies will continue to be democratic states (United States 25).

Constructivism

Constructivism is an international relations theory that seeks to depict the social construction of the core elements of international relations. In essence tis theory shows how ongoing social practice processes and their interactions give rise to the form adopted by the core elements of international relations (Rourke and Boyer 19). Constructivists generally challenge the neorealist perception of the causal powers that are associated with power are generally given. They hold that these powers are the result of cumulative and ongoing social practices.

Constructivism is evident in the National Security Strategy through the ideologies of values that are engrained in the strategy. One of the values of the strategy is the support for ethics and rights to govern management of government within the United States and externally as well. The United States advocates values of democracy which constitute an intersubjective set of norms and practices that give much meaning to social structures that are developed by the United States and its allies (United States).

In conclusion, the United States 2015 National Security Strategy highlights the policies and ideologies embedded in the country’s systems to protect the country. This document depicts aspects of realism, liberalism and constructivism. However, one ideology appears to be most prominent throughout the document, realism. Despite international relations, the United States seeks to retain its sovereignty and protect its position as the global champion of democracy. As such, the U.S. government adopts a pessimistic approach towards its security.

Works Cited

Dorn, James A. “U.S.-China Relations: The Case for Economic Liberalism.” Cato Journal 26.3 (2006): 425-443. 10 April 2015. <http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2006/11/cj26n3-2.pdf>.

Frappier, John. The Path to a Culturally Relevant National Security Strategy. Fort Leavenworth: United States Army Command and General Staff College, 2012.

Rourke, John T and Mark A Boyer. International Politics on the World Stage. 12th. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2009.

“The Future of U.S.-China Relations, Is conflict Inevitable?” International Security (n.d.).

United States. National Security Strategy. Washington: The White House, 2015.

Wohlforth, William C. “Realism and the end of the Cold War.” Wohlforth, William C. International security. Massachusets: The MIT press, 1994-1995. 91-129.